DECEMBER 14, 1998

Porsche says no

PORSCHE boss Wendelin Wiedeking has rejected suggestions by Mercedes-Benz boss Jurgen Hubbert that Porsche should enter Grand Prix racing. Wiedeking, who has rebuilt the company dramatically in recent years, says that F1 is too expensive and the money is better spent investing in production facilities.

Porsche has had such success with the Boxster and 911 models that it does not have the capacity to produce enough cars and is also investing in a new sports utility vehicle to make the company less dependent on the volatile sportscar market.

Wiedeking said that the company's focus remains on the United States of America where F1 has little importance at the moment. It remains to be seen whether the announcement that F1 is going to be at Indianapolis in the year 2000 will make any difference to Porsche policy in the long-term.

There remain elements within the Porsche hierarchy which are keen to enter Grand Prix racing. It should be remembered that in 1995 Porsche engineers at Weissach designed a prototype V10 F1 engine although the project was never developed because of financial restrictions at the time.